Reloading Bench

A reloading bench is the foundation for your reloading hobby. The bench is frequently a symbol of great pride among reloaders; it is an expression of ingenuity and creativity. If you browse any of the numerous reloading forums online you are almost certain to find one or more threads where people do nothing more than post pictures of and talk about their benches. But what makes for a good bench? Let’s take a look and see if we can’t determine some good criteria for them.

      First and foremost, your bench must work for you. You are the most important factor when it comes to designing your reloading bench because you are the one that will be using it. Think about how you plan to reload. If you plan to sit while you reload, make it a little shorter; if you will stand make it taller. If you are below average height do not make shelves 12 feet tall. Design your bench based primarily on your own needs, but also consider where you will place your bench once it’s built. You wouldn’t want to build a 6’ bench only to have 5’ of space. The bottom line when building your reloading bench is think twice before you measure twice, then cut.

      Secondly, your bench needs to have enough room on top to mount your press or presses as well as having enough space to actually work. Much of the time spent at your bench will be doing various things like brass prep, not necessarily working with a press. Give yourself enough room to work comfortably and without cramping. Your reloading bench also needs to have enough room for organized storage of your equipment and your components. I prefer to have most of my tools and components underneath my bench, but many like having shelves on top.

      The reloading bench design must also be sturdy, it should not flex when the press is in use. Certain operations like neck sizing with a collet die and crimping can require a pretty good amount of force. If your bench top flexes it will absorb some of the force from the pressing action and cause inconsistent results in your finished ammunition. This is bad for accuracy as consistency is accuracy.

      If you are not the greatest with wood you can buy very sturdy tables at many stores, and so long as the top is a fairly solid piece of wood you will be ok. Many competition shooters actually have a portable press arrangement set up that they just clamp down to the shooting tables they are at. If you are cramped for space you may want to try building something like that and clamping it to a counter top or kitchen table.

      This is a picture of my reloading bench, it’s nothing fancy but it could hold up a tank.

I built this reloading bench with 4x4 posts as my legs, and a simple 2x4 grid top and bottom.

From there I put some plywood on top of the bench and on top of the lower shelf to create my surface area. I did also use two 2x10’s and a 2x4 (I didn’t have any 2X12’s around) under the top piece of plywood for extra rigidity. Since building my bench I have realized that this was probably overkill, although it did add nicely to the weight which helps keep the bench from rocking back and forth during press operation. Having so much wood on top also allowed me to use 3.5” lag bolts to hold my presses down, so I know without a doubt that they are secured. I also have a home owner’s tool box underneath the bench to help weigh it down. I store most of my reloading equipment in the tool box and some of the plastic bins, most of my reloading components go into the plastic bins on the side.

My bench’s top measures 5’ X 2’, it is about the minimum size I would consider if I were to build another bench. It seems to be just enough room to have my gear all set out and not be cramped, but more space is never a bad thing. My bench stands about 40” tall and is very nice for standing up to reload on.

This reloading bench is what works for me. Many other reloader’s benches though are nothing more than a few feet on the end of a bench in a garage, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Other reloader’s benches are quite extravagant setups that fill spare bedrooms. Whatever works best for you is what you should go with. Get creative and feel free to glean ideas from myself or others. Design and build, or buy, something that will serve your needs well and it will be a joy to reload on.

Head to the Top of Reloading Bench

Head Back to Reloading Equipment

Head Back to the Home Page